Our Opinion: Good neighbor

Bethel is showing the state how faith-based efforts can work

The Rev. R.B. Holmes Jr., who is celebrating 27 years as pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, has long had a vision of the church reaching beyond the walls of its West Tennessee Street sanctuary.

As a result, the church has embarked on several endeavors, including a retail center to provide jobs, a restaurant to build on nearby economic development, a charter school to help address disparities in education, a Family Life Center to create a sense of community and the Carolina Oaks development to create housing for families and to help rebrand Frenchtown.

A common denominator in those endeavors is the dream of creating a stronger community within the church's shadow and to provide symbols of hope and possibilities, especially in the minds of the neighborhood's youth.

The endeavors are getting attention, because those committed to strengthening families and improving neighborhoods are looking at what the church has accomplished and want to share this Tallahassee success story with others.

Bethel is showing how faith-based initiatives can play an integral part in building foundations, and ultimately strengthening families and saving children.

Last week, the church's work was the focus of a daylong summit along with the Department of Children and Families and the Casey Families Program. It was billed as Bethel Community of Hope, the third such event in Florida. Similar initiatives are under way in Jacksonville and Gainesville, with Bethel becoming Tallahassee's model.

The church's outreach is important to DCF as a model to building a better community and addressing the issue of children in foster care. The Casey Family Program is a national movement dedicated to reducing the need for foster care and creating hope for children and families.

The Tallahassee summit was held so the attendees from around the state as well as DCF's Community-Based Care partners could identify steps that could be duplicated in cities throughout Florida by partnering with faith-based programs.

"I think what we are seeing by the services (offered), Rev. Holmes has put together a community of hope in strengthening and sustaining families," said Vicki Abrams, a DCF regional managing director for northwest Florida. She noted how the church built a community of hope by providing housing for families and seniors, economic opportunities, a counseling center and educational facilities.

It serves Tallahassee well that, through its partnerships, the church is playing an integral part in providing hope for at-risk families and youth within its own neighborhood.